The Valley on ESPN (subscription required) vs. Drake | Live Stats vs. Drake | Loyola Game Notes vs. Drake

The Valley on ESPN (subscription required) vs. UNI | Live Stats vs. UNI | Loyola Game Notes vs. UNI

CHICAGO (January 9, 2019) - Off to only its second 1-0 start in Missouri Valley Conference play in program history, Loyola University Chicago will venture out on the road for the first time in over a month this weekend for a challenging two-game road trip through the state of Iowa.

Two-time defending MVC Champion Drake will provide the opposition on Friday at 6 p.m. inside the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa, before the Ramblers head northwest to Cedar Falls, Iowa for an 11:30 a.m. meeting with UNI at the McLeod Center on Sunday. 
 

LAST TIME OUT
Led by a game-high 21 points from Abby O'Connor, Loyola shot 58 percent (29-of-50) as it rolled to an 80-54 win over visiting Valparaiso last Sunday in Rogers Park.  O'Connor, who was joined in double figures by Janae Gonzales (17 points) and Allison Day (11 points), became the first Rambler in three years to post consecutive games of at least 20 or more points.  Her and Gonzales each connected on five three-point attempts as the Maroon & Gold shot a sizzling 64.7 percent (11-of-17) from distance, the second highest single-game three-point shooting percentage in program history.
 

LOYOLA – DRAKE – THE SERIES
Friday's conference road opener for the Maroon & Gold will serve as the 17th meeting between Loyola and Drake in women's basketball, a series in which the Bulldogs hold a commanding 13-3 edge.  Since a 75-69 Rambler victory back on January 24, 2014 in the first meeting between the two schools as Valley members, Drake has rattled off nine straight victories against Loyola.  When the two teams met last season in Iowa's state capital, Loyola hung tough in the first half, trailing by only six at the intermission, before the hosts used a 22-4 spurt in the third quarter to open up a sizable lead en route to a 72-46 win. Kailyn Strawbridge led the Ramblers in the defeat with nine points. 


LOYOLA – UNI – THE SERIES
Loyola and UNI will clash for the 13th time on Sunday afternoon in Cedar Falls.  The Panthers, who lead the all-time series by a 9-3 margin, have dominated the series since Loyola arrived in The Valley, winning nine of the 10 encounters.  The lone victory for the Maroon & Gold in that stretch came on January 29, 2016 when the Ramblers prevailed, 64-60, at Gentile Arena.  In last season's meeting at the McLeod Center, the Ramblers received an 11-point, seven-rebound effort from O'Connor but were outscored 24-8 in the second quarter, eventually falling by a final margin of 70-41.  
 

BEWARE THE BITE OF THIS DOG
Drake, which is coming off a road sweep of Bradley and Illinois State last weekend to open MVC play, sits at 10-4 overall (2-0 MVC).

Head coach Jennie Baranczyk's team, which has ripped off a Valley-record 42 straight wins in league play dating back to the 2014-15 season, played a grueling non-conference schedule that saw it pick up impressive victories over Nebraska, Rutgers and South Carolina.

Drake is led by the duo of Becca Hittner and Sara Rhine, both of whom were tabbed Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference selections prior to the start of the season.  Hittner, the reigning Jackie Stiles MVC Player of the Year and 2018-19 MVC Preseason Player of the Year, ranks second on the team in scoring, chipping in 18.3 ppg. She trails only Rhine in the category, who has poured a Valley-best 19.0 ppg.  Rhine is coming off back-to-back double-double performances against the Braves and Redbirds, a feat that earned her MVC Player of the Week accolades this past Monday.
 

PURPLE REIGN
UNI finds itself two games over the .500 mark at 8-6 overall after splitting a pair of games in Central Illinois last weekend.  The Panthers squandered a nine-point lead in last Friday's Valley opener at Illinois State, falling to the Redbirds by a final count of 66-64, before holding off Bradley in overtime, 81-78, two days later at Renaissance Coliseum. 

Tanya Warren, now in her 12th year at the head of the Panther bench, has piloted UNI to fourth straight postseason berths, highlighted by a trip to the NCAA Tournament back in 2016-17.  

Karli Rucker and Ellie Howell pace the attack for Warren's team.  Rucker averages a team-high 14.9 points, a mark that ranks eighth in the MVC, while Howell chips in 10.9 ppg.  A face Loyola will not see is that of Megan Maahs, a Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference pick.  Maahs, who was named to the 2017-18 MVC All-Freshman Team after averaging 7.5 points and 6.7 rebounds in her rookie campaign, suffered a season-ending injury in the Panthers 64-60 win over North Dakota on December 4, 2018. 

UP NEXT
Loyola returns to the friendly confines of Gentile Arena next weekend for matchups against Evansville (January 18) and Indiana State (January 20).